Tribal Collaboration
Values-based relationships with Tribal Nations, communities, and members are integral to the achievement of Archaeology Southwest’s mission. These relationships are based on Indigenous kinship values outlined in our Model for Tribal Collaboration. Skylar Begay, co-author of the model, highlights the model’s most important takeaways and shares how Archaeology Southwest has been implementing the model across a range of diverse programs—from research, public outreach, and advocacy to landscape -cale protection efforts. Organizations beginning their own journeys toward partnering with Tribes are highly encouraged to attend.
Tribal Co-Management and Co-Stewardship of Public Lands
Today’s Public Lands are the homelands of today’s Tribal Nations, federally recognized or not. For decades, the original stewards and inhabitants of these lands have been forced off those lands and have had scant opportunity to have a say in how those lands should be managed for the benefit of all. Today, Tribes are increasingly able to sit at the table with federal land management agencies to co-manage and co-steward national monuments, national parks, wilderness areas, and other forms of public lands. Skylar shares his personal experiences advocating for Tribal Co-Management/Co-Stewardship alongside Tribal leaders. He also shares lessons learned from an ongoing campaign to protect a section of the lower Gila River southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, that is known as the “Great Bend of the Gila.” Readers can learn more about this subject from our position paper “Tribal Co-Management: What Works Where & How?.”
Hands-On Activities for Youth and Lifelong Learners
Skylar Begay got his start in conservation working for the Arizona Conservation Corps as a youth conservation member, eventually becoming a crew leader for all Indigenous crews. As a result, he recognizes the importance of youth outreach programs at pivotal times in the lives of young adults. This half-to full-day program focuses on an introduction to both archaeology and conservation, and bridges the perceived divide between natural and cultural resources while also acknowledging the negative historical parallels in the two disciplines’ engagement with Indigenous Peoples. These lessons are not so much lectures, but rather more participatory educational group activities paired with a range of hands-on activities: atlatl dart-throwing, rabbit stick-throwing, pendant-making, and demonstrations using traditional Indigenous foods. Booking far in advance is required.